Gripper device.



C. DAUSMAN.

GRIPPER DEV|CE.

APPLlCATlON FILED OCT. 29. 1913.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

22 [If jfll" [5 1 25 I6 6 WITNESSES [MENTOR 1 flm J Wm m ATTORNEYS THE COLUMBIA puyommrn -.u., WASHINGTON, n c

l 1N lTED STATES PATENT CHARLES DAUSMAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES PRINTING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GRIPPER DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apiaa, 1916.

Application filed October 29, 1913. Serial No. 797,997.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES DAUSMAN, a citizen'of the United States, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gripper Devices, of which the following is a specification.

' My inventionrelates more particularly to gripper devices for bronzing machines or the like, through which printed sheets of paper are passed while the ink is still moist, and automatically dusted with bronze powder which is suitably distributed by fountain rollers, brushes and .pufis, and finally bufied, so that when delivered from the machine the previously inked design appears in bronze. In such machines, one edgeof the paper is gripped by a gripper device located in a gap in the periphery of a large iron roller, and carried under the fountain rollers, pufis, brushes and bufiers located circumferentially of the roller. The paper rests upon the smooth surface of the roller while passing throughithe machine until the several operations are completed when the grippers release the leading edge and the sheet is discharged. The object of my device is to improve the gripper device of such machines and at'the same timedo away with the objectionable gap pan. In machines of this kind thegap pan is usually a strip of wood faced with'a thin sheet of zinc, which frequently becomes bent and frayed and frequently damages the various rollers, puffs I and brushes, some of which are very expensive to repair or replace. Furthermore there is the added loss "while the machine is idle and undergoing repair. The gripper devices in these machines usually consist of a series of spring mounted gripping fingers coilsof the individual gripper springs and located a considerable distance apart on the tumbler shaft in the roller gap and covered by the gap pan. The bronze powder sifts into the gap and some of it lodges in the gums them upso that frequent cleaning and adjustment of the gripper fingers.is required. To do this it is necessary to turn the gap pan and grippers over by tumbling or rocking the supporting shaft and then with a wrench reach into the gap and loosen and tighten set screws until the proper adjustment is obtained. These operations result in a very considerable loss of time and labor.

position of the parts atdifl'erent rotativei 7 positions being represented by dotted lines. Fig. 2'is a plan view of some of the gripper plates on the tumbler shaft, Fig. 3 is a section transversely of the shaft through the middle of a gripper plate and Fig. 4 is a viewof the under side of a plate.

Referring to the drawings 1 represents the usual roller of a bronzing machine of ordinary construction. At one point on the periphery "a gap or longitudinal groove 2 extends uniformly from end to end of the roller 1 and has mounted therein the tumbler shaft 3 which ispivotally mounted in the end plates in the usual or any preferred manner. To the end of the shaft 8 there is secured a groove cam 4 which is adapted during the rotation of the roller 1, in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1, to engage pins 5 and 6 fixed in the supporting frame lug 10 secured to and projecting from the end plate of the roller 1, the lug 10 being provided with a hole through which the other end of the rod 7 is adapted to slide. From this construction it will be seen that as the shaft 3 is rocked in one direction or the other by the pins 5, '6, the end of the thrust rod will be carried to one side or the other of the center of the shaft and the thrust of the spring will complete the movement and resiliently hold the shaft and grippers in either position. A stop pin 11 projecting from the end of the roller 1 is adapted to limit the movement of the tumbler shaft in either direction by contact with one end or the other of the grooved cam 4.

The construction thus far described is the usual construction of the bronzing machine above referred to and the shaft 3 ordinarily carries a series of spring gripping fingers and a gap pan. For these latter I have substituted the combined gripper and gap pan illustrated in the drawings, which consists of a plurality of separate plates 12 preferably cast with a box lug 13 on the under side, the bore of which is located substantially central thereof. A correspondingly bored box cap 1% is secured thereto by suitable bolts 15 so as to revolubly mount the plate 12 upon and at a fixed distance from the tumbler shaft 3. The outer surfaces of the gripper plates 12 are curved to conform to the circumference of the roller 1 when the gripper is closed. The plates 12 extend in both directions froma radial plane through the axis of the shaft 3, one end 12 of each plate being thinned down on the under side and roughened in any preferred manner, as at 16, to form a gripper face; the other ends 12 of the plates are extended to the edge of the gap so as to completely close the gap when the plates are in grippin position '(see dotted position at the left in Fig. 1). The plates 12, constituting the gripper and gap pan, are all mounted upon the shaft 3 in a similar manner and adjacent edges are inv contact throughout the width of the plates; the number of plates required being determined by the length of the roller 1 and the amount of adjustability required in the grippers.

Each plate 12 has a. counterbore or socket on its outer face at 17 to accommodate the head of a set screw 18 threaded through a hole in the lug 13, as indicated in Fig. 3. Preferably the set screw 18 is provided with an angular head for use in connection with a socket wrench which may be inserted in the counterbore 17. This arrangement leaves the outer surface of the plate 12 unobstructed and at the same time permits an operator to readily set and adjust the individual gripper platesfrom the outside without trouble or loss of time. The gripping edge of the gap 2 of the roller 1 is slightly beveled, and preferably, I secure to this beveled face a strip of tape or other suitable material 19 adapted to cooperate with the gripping faces 16 of the plates 12; the paper to be carried around the roller 1 being gripped therebetween. In operation the printed sheets A, to be bronzed, are delivered to the roller when substantially in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the pin 5 in the groove cam 4 is just closing the gripper plates 12 upon the edge of the paper. In this position it will 'be seen that the upper end of the thrust rod 7 is past the center of the shaft 3 and as the.

Various modifications in the specific de-- tails of construction of the gripper plates and associated parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim 1. In a bronzing machine or the like a roller provided with a peripheral gap extending lengthwise thereof, a tumbler shaft 1n said gap, a plurality of contiguous gripping members mounted on said shaft and.

independently rotatable thereon, and means accessible through the exposed face of each of said members whereby the latter are secured upon said shaft.

tending-lengthwise thereof, a tumbler shaft 111 said gap, a plurality of combined gap pans and gripping members arranged contiguous to each other throughout the length of the gap, lugsdependlng from said mem-- bers and engaging said shaft, caps detach- 2. In a bronzing machine or the like a roller provided with a peripheral gap ex-;

ably secured to said lugs whereby said members are mounted on said shaft so as to be independently rotatable thereon andmean's accessible through the exposed face of each of said members whereby the latter are se-. cured upon said shaft.

3. In a bronzing machine or the like a roller provided with a peripheral gap ex-' tending lengthwise thereof, a tumbler shaft in said gap, a plurality of combined gap pans and gripping members arranged contiguous to each other throughout the length of the gap, and each provided with a counterbore terminating in the outer face of each member, integral lugs depending from said members and engaging said shaft, caps de- In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set tachably secured to said lugs whereby said my hand in the presence of two subscribing members are mounted on said shaft so as to Witnesses. be independently rotatable thereon and set CHARLES DAUSMAN. bolts in said counterbores and accessible Witnesses:

CHARLES HAHN,

therethrough whereby said members are se- JOSEPH T. DONAHUE.

cured upon said shaft.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. O. 

